Introduction to Cryptography

Last Updated: 16 December 2018

You've always wanted to learn cryptography, but you've been intimidated by the highly technical and mathematical literature? Or you've been confused by the big number of acronyms? You've probably heard that crypto stuff is hard, and is best left to experts. Well, fear no longer: crypto is fun, useful, and you too can learn it, one bite at a time.

The best way to learn cryptography is by taking an introductory class in Applied Cryptography. You may read a textbook (and do the exercises), or, much better, you can watch a live lecture at undergraduate level at your University or a recorded lecture on YouTube.

Christof Paar's Cryptography Lectures

An excellent crypto primer is Introduction to Cryptography by Prof. Christof Paar and Prof. Jan Pelzl. It is a very accessible textbook for beginners, that I highly recommend. You may also enjoy viewing Prof. Paar's 25-part 2 semester lectures on cryptography that he taught in 2010/2011 at the Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany, based on that textbook. If your time is very limited, at least have a look at the lecture slides.

In the following crypto bites, I'll assume that you have taken this class, read the book, looked at the slides, or that you have equivalent knowledge. I may link to some of these lectures where necessary.